My Elder Advocate

A Largely Unknown Veterans' Benefit - Worth Knowing About

The Veterans' Administration offers an Improved Pension with Aid and Attendance (A&A) benefit that is largely unknown. Unfortunately, this most important benefit is overlooked by many families with Veterans or surviving spouses who need additional monies to help care for ailing parents or loved ones. Check out www.VeteranAid.org

Check out Barbara Friesner's (www.AgewiseLiving.com) radio show on Radio America. She interviews Debbie Burak, Founder ofVeteranAid.org.

When an Elderly Loved One Resists Care

How many times has your mother refused to change her clothes? Has your father resisted getting out of bed? Has your wife pushed you away when you tried to brush her teeth? Many times a caregiver will be particularly frustrated by her loved one's refusal to help himself. At times she can't help but think that the person she cares for "36 hours a day" is going out of his way to make her miserable! The increasing irrationality of individuals with dementia makes it even harder on the caregiver.

Caring for the Caregivers

Editorial - Caring for the Caregivers - NYTimes.com.

Relatives Can Be Paid To Look After Elderly

By VICTORIA E. KNIGHT, Wall Street Journal

Caring for a family member is a responsibility many people bear. It can also be a source of income.

So-called "caregiver agreements" -- formal contracts under which relatives are hired to care for elderly family members -- have been around for a while. But with the economic downturn, more families may be open to entering into such arrangements, some attorneys and caregiver advocates say.

Sandwich Generation Struggles With Caregiver Responsibilities

A new study released today by The Consulting Practice at Bright Horizons indicates that members of the sandwich generation -- those with child and elder caregiving responsibilities -- are increasingly concerned about the balance of work and responding to the additional caregiving needs of older relatives. However, the same study confirms that employers who provide back-up child and elder care are helping to maintain productivity and commitment for those employees during times when there is a breakdown in care for loved ones -- children, parents, or in some cases, spouses.

Men As Caregivers

By Jack Halpern

Bill Sanders, 57, has been taking care of his 90-year-old mother for the past 14 years, both at her home in Brooklyn, New York and the nursing home where she now resides. "When I took care of my mother at home," he explains, "I found that neighbors looked down on me. They thought I was a bum living off my mom. They didn't believe I was really taking care of her." Sanders thinks that a woman would not have faced this kind of ridicule.

Senior Moments: Preparing in advance for a hospital stay eases burdens on family

There's a good chance your aging parent will require hospitalization at some point, especially if he or she has chronic health conditions. If your parent relies primarily on you for assistance, it's important to do some preparation in advance even if it's only thinking about what will happen. LINK

CAREGIVER CONTRACTS: A Legal Remedy for Medicaid

By Jack Halpern, MPS, LNHA.

Warning: Please don’t try this at home by yourself. Caregiver contracts may have serious legal and tax implications. For a professional in your area write to
jhalpern@myelderadvocate.com

As people get older, they often hire people to perform services for them, such as housekeeping, cooking, driving, paying bills and personal care.

 

Caring for the Caregiver: Acknowledging You Need Assistance

By Jack Halpern

Caregivers of chronically ill older persons or those with disabilities are generous, compassionate individuals. They care for family members or friends in the familiar surroundings of their own home or community.  These caregivers are “on call” 24-hours a day, 7 days a week because they want to see their family member or friend remain in the comfort and security of their own environment.  But at some point, even the  caregiver needs a break, a rest, or a breather.

Elder-Care Costs Deplete Savings of a Generation

To care for her ailing 97-year-old father over the past three years, Elizabeth Rodriguez, a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, has borrowed against her 401(k) retirement plan, sold her house on Staten Island and depleted nearly 20 years of savings.

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